Stranded For Christmas
by Debwood-1999
Summary: Bray and Dean are married long-haul truckers, who get stranded on Christmas Eve day in a small town when the interstate closes. Holiday hijinks ensue when they meet up with a pair of old friends and encounter a family in need of some Christmas spirit. Established Wybrose, Jay/ Luke, implied and past M-Preg. Rated T for language and some adult content.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Whelp, it's time for my annual holiday offering. I've been trying to write Wybrose in a more conventional manner, although Bray and Dean have a very twisted chemistry that's oddly appealing. In this one, Bray and Dean are married long-haul truckers, who get stranded on Christmas Eve day in a small town when the interstate closes. Holiday hijinks ensue when they meet up with a pair of old friends and encounter a family in need of some Christmas spirit.**

 **DISCLAIMER: Not my characters, except for Anna, Rocky and Ruby Sue. Rocky and Ruby Sue appear courtesy of** _ **National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.**_ **Tempest and Chase appear courtesy of Wrestlefan4 and Dark Kanenite.**

 _ **Stranded For Christmas  
By Debwood-1999**_

 _ **Chapter One**_

"I'm afraid I-70's closed from here to Colby, Kansas," the Colorado state trooper advised. We've got blowing and drifting snow. Nothing and nobody can go in or out."

"Road looks perfectly clear to me!" Dean complained from his place behind the wheel of the 18-wheeler. "Why would you guys close it?"

"It's not clear near the state line. Snow's blowing and drifting, and there's concerns about the storm moving west. If you look towards the east, the sky looks pretty nasty. CDOT's erring on the side of caution. Your best bet is to stop in Burlington and wait it out. I wouldn't wanna get caught up in that stuff."

With a mumbled _Thanks,_ Dean Wyatt-Ambrose rolled up the window and jockeyed the big rig onto the exit ramp leading into the small high plains town of Burlington. He hated the idea of camping out at a truck stop, but he knew deep down that it was the right thing to do, given the circumstances.

Driving a big rig in a blizzard was like trying to hold a greased pig. Darn near impossible. Dean was aware of the two major rules when driving in such adverse conditions (his husband, Bray, had drilled them into his head when he first started out); mind your speed, and when it got really bad, it was just best to stop. Better to spend a few hours sucking down coffee at a truck stop than to wrestle a big rig through dangerous ice and blowing snow.

Yeah, it looked clear and calm now, but that could change in an instant if the front that was parked further east decided to cross state lines. _Typical Colorado weather,_ Dean thought with sour amusement. _Don't like it? Wait five minutes._

"I'd rather blast right through whatever storm's out there," Dean complained, as he expertly swung the rig into the parking lot of a truck stop called the Travel Shoppe. It was a mid-sized place, with plenty of room for trucks and their trailers, and a Denny's, where one could grab a bite to eat or a cup of coffee. Several motels and fast-food restaurants were close by, either next door or across the road. Plenty of options in case he and Bray needed to bunk for a longer time.

"Not a good idea. Remember the last time we drove through a snowstorm?" Bray asked his driving (and life) partner. "The last couple hours on the road were a nightmare. We spent more time shoveling the truck than we did driving it." He saw the look of frustration in Dean's eyes and continued. "Hey, I know the last place you wanna spend Christmas is at a Denny's, but we could have been stranded in worse places than this. Okay. We're stuck here. But we've already dropped our load off, and we're just heading home. The truck stop's open 24 hours, and we can get a good meal here. The place is well-lit, there's electrical hookups, and if we absolutely have to, we can check into a motel. We're gonna be fine."

"You're right," sighed Dean, as he found a space to park the rig. "I should be thankful we aren't stranded in the middle of Hell's Half Acre, right?"

"Yeah." Bray grinned. "Now let's get something to eat and drink so much coffee that we float out of Denny's."

Dean couldn't help but laugh. Bray had that effect on him.

From the moment Bray Wyatt was introduced to Dean Ambrose, they'd been inseparable. They'd gone from driver and apprentice to friends, to lovers, and finally a married couple. Dean was the kind of person who, with no effort, infuriated anyone who didn't have the patience of a saint. Luckily, Bray had that kind of patience; six years and a wedding ring was proof of it.

The two of them entered the restaurant, a clean, busy establishment that had a typical restaurant smell-coffee brewing and food cooking. The kind of smell that made you feel comfortable and made you want to order something to eat, whether you were hungry or not. A hostess greeted them warmly and seated them at a booth.

Once they were seated, a young woman with curly blonde hair in a ponytail who was dressed in a typical server's uniform-a black Denny's polo shirt and khakis-bounded over to Bray and Dean's table. "Hi," she cheerfully greeted as she set two glasses of ice water in front of her customers. "I'm Anna, and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with some coffee?"

"Hi, Anna." Bray answered. "Two cups, with cream."

"And would you like to see a menu?"

"Yes, please. I think we're gonna be here a while." Bray paused. "If you don't mind me saying so, you look remarkably chipper. I'd think that a day like this would run you ragged."

Anna couldn't keep the grin from tugging across her face. "Oh, I _live_ for days like this. Means plenty of business! We're busy anyhow because we're right next to the interstate, but when truckers and other motorists get stuck here, we make even more money. I'll be back with your coffee and two menus," she added before dashing off.

~~~XMAS~~~

While Bray and Dean perused the menu, another truck and trailer pulled into the Travel Shoppe lot. Its occupants, a burly, bearded man in red flannel and blue jeans and his blonde spitfire spouse (who happened to be his driving partner as well), climbed out and headed into the Denny's for a much needed breakfast.

In front of the restaurant, two blonde adults and three kids got out of a gray SUV, tired and frustrated because their plans to drive right through to North Carolina had been shot due to the incoming storm. Oh well. Things could be worse. At least they could take shelter, grab some food, and find a motel if push came to shove.

Neither of them had any idea that their lives were about to converge in a most unexpected (and delightful) way.

~~~XMAS~~~

The spitfire spouse of the big, burly man wearing red flannel held back as the red flanneled man snuck up behind Bray and smacked the table with both hands.

"I thought I told you to get your ass out of town, Wyatt!"

Bray flinched, and Dean nearly spewed his mouthful of coffee across the table, before Bray recognized the voice. Grinning like a lunatic, he got up and hugged his longtime friend. "Harper, you SOB! How ya' doing?"

Luke Harper eagerly returned the hug. "Pretty good. We just heard on the radio that I-70 is now closed eastbound. It's just bad they said. You can't hold the truck in the road, it's just ice everywhere now. I heard on the radio about a couple of flip-overs outside of Goodland and we thought, _okay, that's it,"_ said Luke. "Whodathunk we'd meet up again like this?"

"I know." Jay Reso-Harper joined his spouse and plopped down in the chair next to Dean. "Small world, huh?"

"Jay, you look good," Dean smiled. "Growing your hair out, I see?"

"Thanks." Jay ran his fingers through his lengthening blonde locks. A sly look appeared in his eyes. "Gives Luke something to hold onto, if you know what I'm saying."

Dean covered his ears. "Oh TMI, Jay!" he laughed; years of being with Bray had made him a bit more modest. "We didn't need to hear _that!"_

Rather than look for their own table, Jay and Luke invited themselves to sit with Bray and Dean. Not that Bray and Dean minded-the four of them went way back and were almost like brothers, so Jay and Luke could get away with it. Soon, they all ordered food and settled into comfortable conversation.

Their attention was soon distracted by the two blondes (one tall with long wavy hair, one shorter, with spiky short hair) who entered the restaurant with their kids. They were promptly seated in a large corner booth in back of the restaurant; since it was still early, and the road had just closed, there were still plenty of seats.

The tall blonde gave two of the kids (a husky-looking boy with short, slicked back hair and a hoodie over jeans and a white t-shirt, and a cute moppet of a girl with mousy hair and a gap-toothed grin) coloring books and some crayons, and they soon got to work coloring pictures to pass the time.

The shorter blonde gave the second little girl (a curly-haired, blue-eyed little scrap) an iPad to play games on, and before long, the first little girl joined in on the fun. The little boy continued to color for a while until he glanced up and saw Bray and his friends eating their breakfasts.

"Hey! Look, Mod! There's two guys covered in hair!"

The tall blonde threw the boy a disapproving look. "Rocky, don't point like that!"

Before Rocky's... _Mod?..._ could say anything else, Rocky abandoned his crayons and got up from the table. "Rocky, sit down!" hissed the tall blonde. "Those guys are probably trying to eat."

Fearlessly, Rocky approached the truckers' booth and studied Bray and his friends like they were a collection of insects he'd never seen before.

"Hey, Mister," he said, pointing to Luke. "Why do you have so much hair?"

Luke was taken completely off guard. "Uh, it keeps our faces warm?" he sputtered. Jay and Dean snickered at Luke's discomfort.

The tall blonde swooped in to save Luke from further embarrassment. "Rocky! That's not polite. I'm sorry about that, Sirs. My son's a bit impulsive."

"It's alright," chuckled Bray. "We get that all the time. As long as we're here, I might as well introduce myself. I'm Bray Wyatt, this is my husband, Dean. The big guy across from me, in the red flannel is Luke, and that's Jay with the blonde hair."

The blonde looked grateful for Bray's understanding. "Maybe the circumstances aren't all that great, but… I'm Adam Hardy-Copeland, and this is my little boy, Ethan Claude Gilbert Hardy-Copeland. It's a mouthful, so everyone calls him Rocky."

"Hi! You got a lot of hair." Rocky stuck out his tongue.

"Rocky, don't go sticking your tongue out. Your face'll freeze like that."

Just then, the mousy-haired moppet sidled up to Adam; she was obviously Rocky's sister, from the looks of things. Adam put a protective hand on her shoulder. "And this is my daughter Ruby Sue. Kids, this is Mr. Bray and Mr. Luke, and this is Jay, and this is Dean."

"Oh, my gosh!" grinned Jay. "Aren't you the cutest thing?"

Ruby Sue grinned back. "Hi, Mr. Jay. Don't mind my brother. He's a big jackass."

"Language, Ruby Sue!" Adam warned his daughter.

Bray noticed that Ruby Sue was sporting a Band Aid. "What happened to your hand?"

"Rocky bit my thumb. He's nervous 'cause Christmas is almost here."

"Nervous or excited?"

"Shitting bricks!" she grinned.

"You shouldn't use that word!" gasped Adam, a blush rising on his cheeks.

"Sorry, Mod. Shitting rocks."

Dean and Jay snorted in laughter, Luke chuckled, and Bray's smile slipped a notch. Adam looked like he wanted to fall through the floor and disappear. "As soon as we get home," he said to his daughter under his breath, "I am gonna have a talk with your dad about using bad words around you and Rocky."

~~~XMAS~~~

Gradually, the group of adults and kids gravitated towards the big booth in the back of the restaurant. "What does _Mod_ mean, if you don't mind me asking?" Bray wondered, as he sipped at his coffee.

"It means _My Other Dad,"_ Adam explained. "Anyway, Ruby Sue's my miracle baby. Her eyes used to be crossed. She fell into a well at the Imag-I-Nation-"

"Imag-I-Nation?"

"It's the name of the property we live on in North Carolina," Adam explained. "We, meaning my husband Jeff and me. Getting back to the story, Ruby Sue was eighteen months old. She fell into an empty well, and she got crossed eyes and a concussion. Put her in the hospital for almost a week. Then the next year, we were visiting a petting zoo at the State Fair in Raleigh, and a calf kicked her in the head. We took her to the hospital as a precaution. The docs examined her, and they were stunned. No serious injury, and her eyes went all back to normal!"

"Wow, a blessing in disguise, I take it?"

"Wouldn't you know it?"

~~~XMAS~~~

"So what are you guys doing, stranded in the middle of nowhere?" Jay asked the shorter blonde later, who introduced himself as Chris Irvine-Hardy. He was the… Mod… of the curly haired little girl, whose name was Tempest Rose.

"Addy and I took the girls on a ski trip as a Christmas gift," Chris said, stirring his coffee. "We always wanted to go to Colorado, and we wanted to take a road trip, so we took the car and drove out. There was supposed to be more people, actually, but Chase had to have an emergency appendectomy, and his doctor forbid him to travel."

"Chase?"

"My twelve year-old. Looks just like me." Chris whipped out an iPhone and showed Jay a picture of a young man who was a dead ringer for his Mod, right down to the spiky hair. "Anyway, he's laid up, and Matt-he's my husband-stayed at home to look after him. So, the two of them, and Jeff-he's Addy's husband-are having Christmas back home with the grandparents. Jeff would have accompanied us, but he's laid up too. He fell off a snowmobile and broke his leg."

"Ruby Sue and Rocky, Chase and Tempest, they're all related then, I assume?"

"Yeah. Cousins. Chase is the oldest. He's twelve, so he's kinda moving out of kid stuff, but he loves to tease his sister and stick up for his cousins. Ruby Sue, Tempest and Rocky are thick as thieves. Funny thing is, Rocky's the oldest out of the three, but Ruby Sue's kinda the leader of the pack. The instigator, if you will."

"She's a little pistol," Jay laughed, as he watched the kids play on Chris's iPad.

"She is. Sweetest little girl. We all adore her. Well, anyway, the trip here was awesome, but the trip back's been a headache. We'd planned on driving straight through on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to avoid all the traffic and get home quicker, but I guess Mother Nature had other plans. So we're stuck here like everyone else."

"Hey, maybe there's a reason why you're here," Jay smiled. "You can probably grab a bite to eat and check into a motel and get some rest until the storm passes. You could probably even check some of the town out. Weather's not that bad here. The road's closed further east as a precaution."

"Maybe. But we really don't want to lose our booth. It's the only that's big enough for all of us. And our server seems to have taken it on herself to make sure we're taken care of."

"I think she's taken a liking to all of us. We'll be just fine."

~~~XMAS~~~

Eventually, the conversations turned to Christmas. The kids had loved the ski trip as their present, but it just wasn't the same. What could possibly be more Christmassy than a tree, some candy and cookies, and a few gifts to unwrap? Bray and Luke turned into impromptu Santa Clauses as the kids wound up on their laps. The kids (Ruby Sue in particular) discovered under all that hair and bluster were a couple of big softies who loved children.

"What do you want Santa to bring you?" Bray asked Ruby Sue, who was comfortably seated in his lap. A curly green Christmas bow was nestled in her hair.

"I want a princess doll for Christmas."

"A Disney Princess?"

"No!" Ruby Sue grinned. "All the kids in school have Disney Princesses. I want a princess that nobody else has!"

~~~XMAS~~~

"They shouldn't have to miss Christmas just because they're stuck here like us," Bray said later on to Dean, away from earshot of the kids. Let's do something for them. You know, get a tree, some gifts to unwrap, candy-"

You could almost hear the light bulb turn on in Dean's head. "Oh, throw them a Christmas party here. Yeah, we could do that. Then we can have a Christmas here at the same time. You think Jay and Luke would be on board for it?"

"They're in the same boat as we are. I'm sure they'd be cool with it. It'll give us all something to do."

Anna, who was setting a plate full of Grand Slam Breakfast in front of a customer, couldn't help overhearing Dean and Bray's conversation and approached the couple.

"Guys… I couldn't help hearing you. If you need some help with that, there's a Safeway just up the road, and across from there is a Family Dollar. The Safeway looks tiny, but it really isn't. You can find cookies or candy for the kids there. And you can probably get your gifts there or at the Family Dollar. And here…" Anna handed Bray a set of keys. "You can take my truck. It's the magenta colored one at the end of the lot. Just don't wreck it."

Bray was taken off guard. "We can't take your truck, Anna-"

"Don't worry about it. Besides, it would be kinda tough tooling around town in a big rig looking for last-minute Christmas presents. You probably wouldn't wanna drop your trailer and go bobtailing, either."

"But what about our tables? They're in a good spot and we don't wanna lose 'em."

"We might lose them anyway," Dean pointed out. "The place is filling up pretty quick."

Anna smirked, and her eyes twinkled merrily. "Never underestimate the power of the RESERVED sign."

Dean couldn't help but ask the obvious question. "Why would you wanna help us? We hardly even know you."

Anna's expression grew somber. "I've worked here six years, and I've seen countless people get stuck here on Christmas. It's a frustrating thing to see, and you can't do anything about it." A pause "I made a promise to myself that this year, I was gonna help someone out."

"Hey, that's cool!" Dean smiled, as Bray looked on in admiration.

"Do what you guys gotta do, I'll look after the kids and their… Mods? Never heard that before, but somehow that sounds appropriate."

 **NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: A bit choppy, I know, but this is supposed to be a rather fast-paced story, in spite of the fact that the boys are all stuck at a truck stop.**

 **I've tweaked the ages a bit. I know that Jay's considerably older than the others in real life, but here he's the same age as Dean. Addy and Chris are their younger versions (Addy with the long hair is the muse who takes up space in my head, as does the Chris with the short spiky hair from five years ago).**

 **Ruby Sue's remark about Rocky biting her thumb and the rest is from** _ **Christmas Vacation**_ **as well.**

 **REVIEWS = LOVE**


	2. Chapter 2

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: If anyone lives in Burlington, CO, then you'll know that the Safeway there is ridiculously small. I blew the size up just a bit for the sake of the story. Aaannnd, there used to be an Alco store on Lincoln Street, right close to the Travel Shoppe. It would have been perfect for Bray and his crew to do Christmas shopping, but alas it was closed when the Alco chain went bankrupt. In its place now is a Shopko Hometown, which hasn't opened yet in this story. Just trying to keep things sort of authentic.**

 **DISCLAIMERS: Please see the previous chapter.**

 _ **Chapter Two**_

"Jay and I wanna go fall down a Christmas tree," Dean announced, as Bray pulled into the tiny parking lot of the Safeway store. From the looks of things, everyone had done their shopping earlier; the lot was sparsely populated, save for a handful of vehicles parked near the front.

"You mean cut down," Bray suggested, as he put the extended cab truck into Park.

"We can't cut down a Christmas tree," Jay explained, as he climbed out of the truck, Dean right behind him. "When we look at it, we hope it'll just fall down."

"That's redonkulous!" Luke snorted. "How are you gonna fall down a Christmas tree?"

"Ye of little faith!" scoffed Jay, slamming the truck door shut. "It'll happen. Just you watch. We'll meet you back here."

"How do you know how to get back to the restaurant?"

"We paid attention on the drive over!" Dean fired back. "It's not that far back to the Denny's. Half a mile at the most. And it's not that cold. Just snow flurries." And with those final words, he and Jay darted across the parking lot and were gone before Bray or Luke could say another word.

~~~XMAS~~~

"Look at this place!" Bray marveled as he and Luke entered the Safeway and grabbed a shopping cart. "This store's so tiny, you can throw a ball through the front entrance and it'll hit the back wall."

Luke shook his head. "Actually, it's a lot bigger than it looks." He gestured with his chin toward his left. "Check this out."

Bray goggled at the spacious aisles towards his left. This place truly was bigger than it looked. "Holy smokes! And they got nothing but Christmas stuff in this aisle." He marveled at the bags of candy, cookies, and assorted holiday doodads and gifts. A smirk crossed his lips as he picked up a small red and green and white box and read the label. "Hey, Candy Cane shot glasses. What would you put in Candy Cane shot glasses?"

"Something Christmassy, I guess," Luke shrugged as he put a bag of Holiday M&Ms and a bag of Kit Kats in the cart. He saw Peppermint Oreos and knew he had to get those for the kids too.

"Look at this!" Bray picked up an orange package that looked like a pack of Reese's Cups, only it was about ten times larger. "This'll put you in a sugar coma. Two half-pound Reese's cups."

Luke picked up a box of gingerbread men (hey, it was Christmas, so gingerbread men would be festive enough, right?) and set it in the cart. "That's 2000 calories and change. You wouldn't need to eat for a day and a half if you ate these."

"You wouldn't _want_ to eat for a day and a half if you ate them. And how would you know the calories in this thing?"

"I just know stuff." Luke added a bag of Reese's Christmas trees to his stash of candy and cookies. "Now stop looking and help me find some toys for the kids."

The two big truckers wandered through the aisle, perusing the various gifts that were on display. "Hey, I found something. A princess doll. I think Ruby Sue will like it."

Luke gazed at the bright pink box containing the doll and a collection of frilly dresses, shoes and doodads supposedly associated with royalty. "Karissa? Wouldn't you want to get Ruby Sue a Disney Princess?"

"Ruby Sue said she didn't want a Disney Princess. She said she wanted a princess doll."

"Well, she certainly has the wardrobe for it. It's your money."

Bray shrugged as he picked up another boxed gift. "Think Tempest will like this dollhouse?"

"Yeah. I think so. I think Rocky will like the dinosaur set that's right next to you."

"Cool." Bray set the toys in the shopping cart. "We got the toys taken care of. Next is Addy and Chris." He and Luke spent a few more minutes checking out the meager selection of more adult-appropriate gifts. There were bedroom slippers, small appliances (coffee makers, kitchen knife sets, crockpots and such) and gift sets with bathing and shaving items.

"Bray... heads up!"

Bray glanced over and was hit in the face with something big and fluffy. It didn't hurt at all, but it was enough to catch Bray off guard and knock him backwards a few inches. "OOF! What the hell? You trying to kill me, Luke?"

"It's a bathrobe, Bray! How could I possibly kill you with a big fluffy bathrobe?"

"Maybe if you threw it at me hard enough."

"I didn't throw it AT you, Bray! I threw it TO you!"

"At you, to you, same difference. Does it go in the cart or not?"

"In the cart. Now we gotta find Chris's gift..."

~~~XMAS~~~

"This tree's perfect," Jay beamed, as Dean looked on. "Now, how are we gonna get it back to the truck stop?"

After wandering down several blocks and checking out all kinds of trees-big, small and in between-Jay and Dean finally found a small but bushy fir tree at the end of a yard where a yellow craftsman house with brick trim sat.

Dean sighed and shook his head. "Y'know Jay, we didn't really think this out. Where are we gonna put this tree, and how are we gonna decorate it?"

"We decorate it with ornaments, DUH! We'll just pick some up at the store. It's Christmas Eve day, we should get them for super cheap."

"And where are we gonna put this tree. We can't sneak it into the restaurant. Or maybe we're gonna put it in a motel room. How are we gonna sneak that thing into a motel room?"

'Who said anything about a motel room?"

"Well, Addy and Chris and the kids are probably gonna stay at a motel, aren't they-" Dean was suddenly interrupted as the front door to the house swung open, and a big man with a flattop and beard barreled out into the yard.

"Hey! What are you doing in my yard?" shouted the man. He saw what Jay and Dean were looking at and instantly jumped to conclusions. "You weren't thinking of cutting that tree down, were ya?"

Jay folded his arms across his chest. "We can't cut a tree down. What if it just falls down?"

The flattop man roared with laughter. "Ha! If it falls down, you can have it!" Wrapping his arms around his middle, he guffawed to himself, "How could a tree that size possibly fall down-"

A sudden, loud CRACK! interrupted the big man's mirth. He and his uninvited guests looked towards the tree… which was now in the process of toppling over sideways onto the ground.

"What the…?!" gasped the big man, his mirth giving way to disbelief.

"Sweet!" Jay high-fived Dean. "We'll take it! Thanks!"

"Told you that tree would fall down!" Dean laughed, as he and Jay picked the tree up and carried it off.

The tree's owner stood in his yard in shock, until it registered in his head that the two trespassers had just taken his tree! "Hey!" he shouted, giving chase. "Come back here!"

~~~XMAS~~~

"Maybe we should get some decorations." Luke said to Bray in the Family Dollar. They didn't find anything appropriate for Chris at Safeway, so they went across the street and were caught off guard by the variety of gifts and decorations for sale at this store. And like the Safeway, it wasn't crowded, either.

"Decorations?"

"For the tree."

"What tree?"

"The one Dean and Jay wanna fall down. I mean, if there's an off chance that they _do_ find a tree, it wouldn't hurt to be prepared. And we can always get our money back if they don't find a tree."

Bray sighed in exasperation and rolled his eyes. "I knew we shouldn't have left those two alone, Luke. Every time they're alone together, something bad happens."

"And why is that?"

Bray's answer was short and sweet. "Because your husband is a troublemaker."

Luke looked genuinely shocked as he put a box of round Christmas balls into the shopping cart he was pushing. _"My_ husband is a troublemaker? Jay? Maybe you oughta talk to Dean. Maybe put him on a leash."

"Are you implying that my husband is a bad influence?" Bray picked up a box of tinsel out of the shopping cart and smacked Luke over the head with it. Both of them knew this was play fighting, but it was about a rather serious topic. "Look who's talking! Maybe you oughta put _Jay_ on a leash."

"So you're saying that my Jay corrupted Dean?" Luke tossed a box of LED Christmas lights into his shopping cart and folded his massive arms across his chest. "Excuse me, Bray, remember last year's Christmas party over at Braun and Erick's? Your husband got Jay so smashed on peppermint Smirnoff that he was outside in his underwear at the end of the night. Outside, Bray! In his underwear! Which is a visual that I'm very fond of, mind you, but not outside of the bedroom for all to see. He was outside, in his underwear, making snow angels, face down. You wanna know why? Because he wanted them to have a smile."

"Dean was walking around, wearing just a flannel shirt and his underwear, too. His pants were around his ankles, and he was shouting something about having all the tickets," Bray fired back. "Jay wasn't the only one causing trouble. And maybe you should have cut Jay off after the sixth shot."

"Well, A, you should have made Dean put his pants back on."

"Do you realize how hard it is to corral Dean when he's drunk? He'd take the pants back off before making snow angels with Jay, just to piss me off!"

"Well, B. keep Dean away from the peppermint Smirnoff next time. So next time, he won't _give_ Jay six shots, and he'll keep his pants on! It's a twofer!"

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have brought the peppermint Smirnoff in the first place!"

"It wasn't my idea!" Luke exclaimed. "Jay wanted to..." his voice trailed off before he realized who the _real_ instigator was. "... bring it... _oh."_ He paused sheepishly. "Hey, uhmm... should we get some more LED lights for the tree?"

"Way to change the subject, Luke. Now shut up and help me pick out some more ornaments. And we only need one box of lights."

~~~XMAS~~~

"How many boxes of lights did we get?" Bray asked later, as he and Luke crossed the street back to the Safeway lot; rather than drive across the street to the Family Dollar, they simply walked across.

"Well, the receipt says one."

Bray gestured towards the plastic bags in his hands. "Then explain how we wound up with two boxes."

~~~XMAS~~~

"Dean! RUN!" Jay shouted, as he and Dean rushed down the street to escape the irate homeowner.

"How can we run and carry a tree at the same time!" Dean fired back. "Yeecch! I got sap in my hair."

"Without complaining, dude!" snarled Jay. "MOVE IT!"

"I can't keep up!" Dean huffed; the tree was bigger than he thought, and it was hard to carry, especially with an angry homeowner right on his and Jay's respective tails.

"Maybe you shouldn't have worn cowboy boots, you mook," Jay fired back.

"What the hell's a mook?"

"It's you, if you don't haul ass!"

"COME BACK WITH MY TREE, YOU THIEVES!" The shouted words in the distance made Jay and Dean jump slightly. They nearly dropped the tree, but they recovered quickly and continued their escape.

"BEAT FEET, WILL YA?" Jay rolled his eyes. "God, you're such a woman!" A smile crossed his face as he glanced across the street. "There's the truck!"

"You think they're still in the Safeway?" Dean questioned, just as the truck started. "Guess not."

"Help me put this tree in!"

"Close the tailgate so it won't fall out!"

~~~XMAS~~~

Bray and Luke, who had stowed their holiday items in the back seat of the truck and were now in the front seat, jumped at the loud WHUMP! from the back. "The hell has that?" Bray wondered out loud above the rumble of the truck engine.

Luke glanced at the rear view mirror and had to do a double take. "Is that what I think it is-"he asked, before fists pounded on the passenger side door.

"Guys! Open the door!" Dean shouted. A startled Luke opened his door and had to pull his seat back so that Dean and Jay could dive into the back. The two of them jockeyed for position in the back seat as the truck backed out of its parking spot.

"Careful!" hissed Bray. "Don't crush the cookies!"

"BRAY!" Jay shouted. "PUNCH IT! GO! GO!"

"Where'd you get the tree?" asked Bray, having noticed the tree in the bed of the truck.

"You guys didn't cut it down, did you?" Luke asked.

"NO!" Dean spat, as the truck pulled into traffic. "We can't cut down a tree! We looked at it and it fell over!"

"You expect us to believe you guys?" Bray asked, suspiciously.

"We're dead serious!"

"Don't argue, Bray!" Jay snarled. "Just drive!"

Luke noticed someone else in the rear view mirror. "Who's the big ugly guy in the parka?"

"The guy whose yard we took the tree out of."

"WHAT?!" Bray slammed on the brakes at a red light. "YOU STOLE HIS TREE?"

"Dammit, you two!" Luke was genuinely annoyed. "We ain't bailing you out this time!"

"WE DIDN'T STEAL THE TREE!" Dean and Jay shouted at the same time.

"He said we could have it if it fell over," Jay explained. He knew the story was far-fetched, but it _was_ true, and truth was often stranger than fiction. "When we looked at the tree, it fell over! Come on! The guy's catching up, Bray! Book it!"

~~~XMAS~~~

By the time the angry homeowner caught up to the red light, the truck containing his pilfered tree was already rolling away.

He growled and stomped his foot in frustration, and then glanced up at the escaping vehicle. A smile creased his face as he recognized the truck. It was the magenta one he saw all the time at Denny's when he stopped to order breakfast in the mornings. _What on earth are a bunch of burly guys tooling around in that cute waitress's truck for?_ he wondered, as he trudged down the road. The Denny's was only a half-mile away, it was comfortable outside, and he was big and strong enough that he could easily pick his tree up and carry it back home. _I oughta go there and ask her out on a date._

 _And in the meantime, I'll give those tree thieves a piece of my mind._

 **NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Well, looks like our boys got a tree—sort of—and made a potential enemy! But he said if the tree fell down, the boys could have it, right? Maybe he's still in shock that it actually fell over!**

 **The tree falling storyline is from** _ **Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales.**_ **In the segment upon which this was based, Sally went out to fall down a Christmas tree, because she didn't know how to cut one down. She hoped that if she looked at one, it would fall down. She looked at one, and it fell down! Well, take the storyline, add a couple of troublemakers, stir in their spouses carefully, serve in a small town, and VOILA! This year's Christmas story!**

 **Dean's walking-around-with-no-pants (mis)adventure is from one of his promos as Jon Moxley. Jay's snow-angel mishap is from Texts From Last Night.**

 **As far as the gifts go, I see them all the time during Christmas at my local supermarket. That was the genesis for this little piece of work. And speaking of gifts at my local supermarket, I just picked up the coziest fleece bathrobe for half price! Gotta love markdowns right before Christmas. And you gotta love the markdowns the day after!:)**

 **REVIEWS = LOVE**


	3. Chapter 3

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Well, it's Christmas Eve in my neck of the woods, and so far, it's been slow. Maybe, just maybe, I can leave early tomorrow (I have to WORK! YIKES!) My boss is a Scrooge! BTW, if you're wondering where I found the "fall down a Christmas tree" story that inspired this tale, look up "Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales Sally" on YouTube.**

 **Apologies for this chapter being late. My best friend's dad passed away on Christmas Eve; her family and I are quite close, and the death hit me pretty hard.**

 **DISCLAIMERS: Please see the previous chapter.**

 _ **Chapter Three**_

Adam glanced up from the Kindle he'd borrowed from his husband to use during the trip, frowning. "Tempest, how do I know that the book downloaded?"

Tempest sighed and gave her cousins a beleaguered look before turning back to her technologically inept uncle. Ruby Sue shrugged, and Rocky nodded in understanding. Tempest was technologically adept for someone as young as she was; consequently, she was usually the one who was asked to fix anything remotely computerized when her uncle Adam was around. Unfortunately, she also had little patience and had to work hard to keep her frustration in check.

"See, there's the Device tab," she pointed out. "You tap it, and there's your book..."

Adam's face lit up like he'd just discovered the Holy Grail. "Thanks, Tempest! But… how do you turn the pages?"

~~~XMAS~~~

"I didn't know they still made this brand of body wash! I need to pick some of this up for myself," Anna marveled later, as she helped Bray and Luke bring the gifts into the restaurant through the back entrance. Jay and Dean had gone back inside to distract the kids and their Mods. Anna and her other waitress friends would keep the gifts in the employee breakroom. "Chris will love this, I'm sure!"

"Maybe if you have a spare moment, you can get some. Family Dollar closes at six tonight. So, how are we gonna give these gifts?"

"Well, let's figure it out as we go along." Anna's eyes twinkled. "It'll be more fun that way. And don't worry about wrapping the gifts. The girls and I can get that done in five minutes."

"How can you guys wrap that stuff in five minutes?"

"You've never heard of Japanese gift wrapping? Look it up on You Tube."

"Dean and I don't surf the Net very much."

"Maybe you should. At least check out the NORAD site. The kids have been tracking Santa all morning. I should know because I just served them all grilled cheese and Pancake Puppy sundaes. They were staring at Chris's iPad." Anna paused. "I know it's still early yet, but we're gonna have a Christmas dinner special. Turkey and all the trimmings, and free dessert. It's our Christmas present for everyone stranded here."

"That sounds fantastic, but…"

"But what?

"Well, we have to find a table first!" Bray gestured with his chin towards the main dining area. "Look at all the people! I'm surprised we found a parking spot."

Anna playfully punched Bray's arm. "Hey… what did I tell you guys about the RESERVED sign? Look through the window over there. And right next to your new friends. And Jay and Dean just got seated."

"Well… I guess that sign really does work."

"It certainly does…." Anna's voice trailed off as she spotted what was still laying in her truck bed. "...Uhhmmm, Bray?"

"Yeah?"

"Where'd you get the tree?"

"Long story."

~~~XMAS~~~

Tempest greeted Bray rather enthusiastically when he entered the restaurant. The little girl rushed over (in spite of her Uncle Adam's admonishment about not running indoors) and threw her arms around him. "Hi, Mr. Bray!"

"Hi!" Bray picked the little girl up. "Did you guys behave yourselves while we were gone?"

"Yeah. Santa's in Moscow!"

"How'd you know he's in Moscow?"

"We're tracking him on Mod Chris's iPad."

"So, where _is_ your Mod Chris?"

"He's on the phone, trying to get a motel room. I looked out the windows earlier. He doesn't look too happy."

~~~XMAS~~~

Outside, Chris ended the call on his iPhone, discouraged. He'd spent most of the morning calling the motels in the area for the off-chance that there was a vacancy. Unfortunately, because of the holidays, not to mention the road closure ahead of the storm, the places were all booked.

He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. The idea of holing up in a restaurant was unbearable, but it beat spending the night in the car. _How am I gonna break this to the kids?_ he wondered miserably.

~~~XMAS~~~

"There's literally no room at the inn," Chris admitted to Adam later, while the kids and their new friends were occupied with tracking Santa.

"Not even a single room?!" Adam was astonished. At least with a single room, the adults could pull the mattress off the box spring and accommodate everyone, kids included, easily.

Chris shook his head. "I've been checking the news on my iPhone. No word about any emergency shelters opening yet. I toyed with the idea of asking Bray and them if we could bunk with them in their cabs tonight, but I don't think our new friends would be able to accommodate us. Not enough room. We may have to stay the night here."

"Well, it could be worse." Adam shrugged.

The two blonde Mods continued their conversation, unaware of the big, parka-wearing man looking at them with a mix of interest and concern before stomping into the restaurant.

~~~XMAS~~~

Jay looked up from the Pancake Puppy sundae that Ruby Sue insisted she share with him (it was actually really good, especially with coffee) and tapped Dean on the shoulder. The bulky sight of the parka-clad, buzz cut sporting treeless homeowner was unmistakable. "Here comes trouble."

"You got a couple of blonde guys here?" the homeowner asked the hostess rather loudly. "One tall one in a leather jacket and cowboy boots, and the other one shorter, in a jeans jacket and hoodie? They stole a tree from my yard."

Dean jumped out of his seat and got right into the homeowner's face. Jay, sensing that Dean might need backup, followed closely behind. "We didn't steal it!" Dean snapped. He turned to Bray, who had gotten up as well. "He said if it fell over, we could have it. When we looked at it, it fell over!"

"It was a Christmas miracle," Jay chimed in.

"Yeah!" Dean added, as he and Jay high-fived.

"Come on, guys!" Bray interjected, trying to lead Dean back to the table. "Let's order some lunch. It's early still."

"Jay, get back here!" Luke snapped, and then gently added, "I know you guys meant well, but you don't wanna cause any more trouble. Come back over here and have something to eat besides ice cream."

Bray and Dean were back at their table, leaving Jay and the unhappy homeowner. An uncomfortable moment passed before Jay asked, "What are you still standing here for? Go home!"

"I want my tree back," the homeowner snarled.

"You said if it fell over," Jay pointed out, "We could have it. Now go home or I'll get my husband!" Jay knew that Luke would always have his back, whether he agreed with Jay's decisions or not, so he felt fairly secure in confronting this angry, parka-wearing hulk.

The situation was growing tenser. The homeowner looked like he was about to blow a gasket, and he was willing to come to blows at this point. Jay refused to back down; even though he didn't totally agree with Dean's plan to find a tree in the first place, he was willing to take up for his friend, in the same way Luke would take up for him. It was now a Mexican standoff, with neither side choosing to budge.

"Excuse me, Sir." The standoff was interrupted when Anna approached the disgruntled homeowner, accompanied by a big-looking guy who had to be her boss. "You're holding up traffic. Now, since this is Christmas Eve, I'm just gonna ask you to leave quietly. My boss and I don't wanna call the cops on you, since they've got more important things to do, especially today, but if we have to, we will."

The parka-clad homeowner turned red with embarrassment when he realized who it was that was threatening him. It was the cute blonde waitress he'd wanted to ask out. Thinking he'd just blown his chance for a date, he mumbled an apology and sheepishly slunk out the door like a dog with his tail between his legs.

~~~XMAS~~~

"Something on your mind?" Luke asked his husband later, over lunch.

Jay sighed. "Do you think Dean and I should give the tree back to that big ugly dude?"

"Why? Are you starting to feel guilty?"

"No!" Jay was indignant. "He said we could have the tree if it fell over. Dean and I don't feel guilty at all."

"We don't have a place to put it, Jay."

"Like Anna said, we'll play it by ear!" Jay answered, without missing a beat. "And you bought decorations, so don't tell me you're not on board with the idea."

"It's Christmas Eve," Luke said, simply, before turning back to his meal. An uncomfortable silence fell between the married truckers as they tucked into their lunch. Finally, Jay grabbed a French fry off his plate.

"Now I really feel guilty," he sighed, before crunching into the fry. His guilt trip was interrupted when a big hand landed on his shoulder. He glanced up. "Hey, Dean."

"C'mon, Jay. Let's take the tree back."

"Did Bray guilt you, too?" Jay asked, climbing out of his chair.

"He and Luke must have been Jewish mothers in a past life."

"I heard that!" Bray laughed, as Luke chuckled silently. Jay threw his husband a dirty look before following Dean out the door.

~~~XMAS~~~

"Where'd Jay and Dean go?" Ruby Sue asked, glancing up from her crayons and coloring book.

"They left," Luke answered.

"They said something about bringing something back," Bray added.

Bray and Luke looked at each other, and they both said the same thing out of earshot from the kids. "The tree."

~~~XMAS~~~

"Y'know. Maybe a tree wasn't such a great idea in this case," Dean admitted as he and Jay carried the tree down the road back into town. Two plastic bags containing all the ornaments and lights dangled from their arms. Their plan was to bring the tree back, and then go to Family Dollar to get a refund on the tree trimming doodads. They didn't take Anna's truck this time; neither Dean nor Jay wanted to impose on her any more than they already had. "And we looked kinda sketchy taking it out of the guy's yard."

"Hey, _you_ were the one who wanted to fall down a Christmas tree," Jay snapped. If it was strange to see two guys lugging a tree down a major road into town, nobody said anything. "We coulda gotten a cheap plastic one somewhere, even one that was fully decorated. If we didn't need it, we coulda taken it back and gotten a refund, but _noooo._ You had to go fall down a tree-Ack!"

"What do mean, _Ack?!"_

"I think I got sap in my hair."

"And _you're_ the one who called me a woman earlier for wearing cowboy boots. Pot, kettle, black, _helloooo?"_

"Shaddup, Dean!"

~~~XMAS~~~

Jay and Dean made their way back to the homeowner's yard. Dean waited with the tree as Jay stepped onto the porch and rang the doorbell. The now parka-less homeowner answered the door.

"Hi," Jay smiled sheepishly. "We brought your tree back."

To Jay's surprise, the homeowner smiled. "Naah, keep it," he said, jovially. "I had a chance to clear my head and cool off on my way back home. I was wrong. It's yours. I said if it fell over, it was yours. Keep it."

Jay smiled. "Really? Thank you, and Merry Christmas."

Jay stepped off the porch and was about to instruct Dean to head back, when he suddenly had an idea. "Hold on a second."

"What? Come on, Jay! I got pine needles and tree sap in places where I shouldn't have pine needles and tree sap!"

"Says the guy who just gave me lip about tree sap in my hair, so knock it off!" snapped Jay before he rang the doorbell again.

The homeowner answered, a little puzzled. "Yes?"

"Sorry to bother you again Sir, but, uhmmmm... are you doing anything for Christmas?"

The homeowner frowned. "Not really. I was planning to visit my folks back east. Can't go anywhere because of the blizzard shutting down the interstate. Can't go to the airport, 'cuz the airport where my folks are is closed due to snow. I can't drive."

"That sucks. Being stranded for Christmas, huh?"

"It is. So it's just me and the cats."

Jay's face lit up, like he'd been decorated with Christmas lights. "You have cats?"

"Yeah. Three of them."

A dreamy smile creased Jay's lips. "I love cats. My husband and I can't have one because of logistics. It'd be tough to take care of one with the work that we do."

"I love cats, too. They aren't as demanding, but they can shower you with affection when you need it. So, uh, the tree. That's for you guys?

"It's actually for some kids." Jay gestured with his chin for Dean to join him and the homeowner on the porch. "Dean and I, we're married to long-haul truckers. We're stuck here like everyone else until the interstate opens back up. We met a family coming home from a ski trip, and they can't get home until the weather changes."

"We wanted to give them a nice Christmas," Dean added. "Y'know, a tree and gifts and whatnot. The tree's for the kids. We're wanting to decorate it."

"That's awful nice of you guys." The homeowner smiled, and Jay decided that he wasn't such an ugly looking guy after all. "Now I feel terrible about hollering at you earlier."

"You didn't know," Dean _pshawed._ _"_ For all you knew, we were just a couple of troublemakers. The joke between our spouses is that whenever Jay and I are alone together, something bad happens." He suddenly understood what Jay was trying to do. "Hey listen, would you like to join us for Christmas dinner over at the Denny's?"

The homeowner was touched "You guys wanna invite _me?_ After I've been such a Grumpy Gus?"

"Well, it's Christmas Eve, so why not?" Jay shrugged. "We wouldn't want you to be a Christmas orphan, Mr..."

"Owens. But call me Kevin. So, how'd you get here?"

"We walked."

"What? You walked? Carrying a tree? And look over to the east! The snow's starting to fall! Hell, let me get my keys and my coat! I'll drive you guys back. And leave the tree here. I think I wanna make up for being such a jerk earlier. We'll give your new friends the best Christmas ever! Before we head over, is there anything else you need. We can swing by Family Dollar or Safeway, I'm sure they're still open…"

 **NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Looks like our homeowner (Kevin Owens) is in need of some Christmas cheer, too! It sucks being a Christmas orphan, but it looks like some magic's underfoot to bring everyone together. As I'm writing this, it's December 27** **th** **. I had a rough couple of days, and I lost some of my motivation. But, I managed to find it, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

 **BTW, Pancake Puppies, for those who aren't familiar, are bite-size pancake balls rolled in cinnamon and sugar. The sundae consists of three of these little bites, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. And yes, they ARE good with coffee!:)**

 **REVIEWS = LOVE**


	4. Chapter 4

**NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Thanks for your patience! Life just got in the way!**

 **If you're wondering where I came up with the idea for this story, well… there's two sources of inspiration. The first one, of course, is the Sally-falls-down-a-Christmas-tree story from Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales. The second is from the Christmas aisle from my local supermarket. For two months, King Soopers/Kroger sells toys and candy and other easily gift-able items. Some of these are dollhouses, dolls, bathrobes (I have one of the bathrobes! So cozy!), and bath and shower sets. That got me asking, "Who would appreciate gifts like those, and who would buy them?" The story flowed from there.**

 **Well, when we last left off, the not-so-unhappy homeowner-Kevin Owens, BTW-offered to make up for being such a jerk earlier by offering to help Jay and Dean and the others put together the best Christmas ever. Looks like Family Dollar is still open...**

 **DISCLAIMERS: Please see the previous chapter.**

 _ **Chapter Four**_

"Oh, sweet! They've got my lucky body wash!" Jay plucked the gift set of Axe body wash, complete with travel bag, off the shelf. "Luke'll love this!"

"It's _your_ lucky body wash?" Dean tilted his head, puzzled. He was studying a display of Christmas cards and gift wrap. He already had Bray's gift, he just needed something to put it in. "Why is it _your_ lucky body wash if you're buying it for Luke?"

Jay's answer was short, sweet and to the point. "Because, when he showers with it, I'll get lucky."

Kevin, who was looking for some gifts for the kids, snorted in laughter, and Dean turned two shades of red. The big man dropped a pack of giant Reese's cups into the shopping cart Jay was pushing (he figured he could slice the giant cups into pieces for everyone to share). "You kinda walked into that one, Dean."

"You certainly did. So… what are you getting for Bray?"

"Let's just say it's something he's wanted for as long as we've been together." Dean found a small box, the kind you put gift cards in to give at Christmas, and a red bow. It was the perfect size for his gift.

~~~XMAS~~~

When Dean, Jay and their new friend finally pulled into the Denny's parking lot, Bray was about to borrow Anna's truck again to go looking for them. He and Luke had been worried sick, and they were confused by Kevin's appearance, but it took a few minutes of explanation, and they were soon conversing like old friends.

Anna set another place at the table, and brought several new packages into the employee breakroom to wrap.

Dinner was delicious, the quintessential Christmas feast. Sliced turkey breast, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce, a choice of sides, and a dinner roll. Adam and Chris got some extra plates so that they could divide the food up between the kids. There was pumpkin pie for dessert, and coffee afterwards.

The boys learned quite a bit about their new friend. Kevin worked at JR Simplot's which was a successful and large agribusiness company. He had two weeks off for the holidays, but his plans to visit his family for Christmas had been derailed because of the incoming bad weather. So, he was trying to catch up on things around the house. Speaking of which...

"You guys are more than welcome to stay at my place tonight," he graciously offered. "I have lots of room, a couple couches that fold out into beds, and plenty of hot water if you guys wanna wash up in the morning."

"Are you sure?" Adam asked the obvious question, as Chris shot him a look that read, _Don't go looking a gift horse in the mouth!_ "We don't wanna impose upon you. You hardly know us."

"Least I can do. My way of saying, _Sorry I've been such a jerk."_

"He's got cats, Luke," Jay grinned, turning expectantly towards his spouse. "Three of them."

Dean sensed his own spouse's hesitation. "C'mon, Bray! When's the last time we've slept in an actual bed?"

"And neither one of us have anything to deliver," Jay chimed in.

Luke shrugged. "I guess it beats sleeping in our truck."

The gratitude on Chris and Adam's faces spoke volumes. They'd have no trouble taking Kevin up on his gracious offer, Adam's original hesitation notwithstanding.

That left Bray. After a pregnant pause, he said, "Well, since you guys insist on casting Luke and me as the heavies… then we can just lock up and take Kevin up on his offer."

Just then, Kevin's cell phone vibrated. With a sheepish look on his face, he glanced down at his phone, and then shut it off. "Sorry, guys, I gotta cut this short." He climbed out of his chair and put on his coat. "My neighbor across the street texted me, said he thought he saw someone breaking into my garage. I'll be right back, and you can follow me to the house."

~~~XMAS~~~

"Hey, thanks for helping out on such short notice!" Kevin grinned as he stowed the gifts that Anna and the waitresses had wrapped in the back of his SUV. Anna had sent the text to give Kevin time to prepare for his new guests. Kevin would take the wrapped gifts back to his house and put them under the tree, which he, Jay and Dean had decorated before heading back to Denny's.

"No problem," Anna said, graciously. "The girls and I got these all wrapped in fifteen minutes. By the way, sorry I got in your face earlier."

"You were just doing your job. I was being a giant Grinch."

"Eh, day's almost over. It's practically Christmas." And Anna was right about that. Her shift was up in a few minutes, and she was going to swing by Family Dollar herself to pick up some body wash. Then, she'd head home to spend Christmas with her roommates.

This Christmas was turning out better than Anna had ever hoped. She hadn't expected anything, and yet she was part of something special. After years of waiting on families stranded on Christmas for one reason or another, she was doing something to give back. It was better than anything material.

"And you're not a Grinch, Kevin. You get to spend Christmas with some new friends. Trust me, you'll like them."

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so. I don't think I've ever met such a lively, entertaining bunch of characters. The kids are adorable, and they're very well-behaved. Waiting on them was a pleasure." She paused. "So, uhmmm… you doing anything New Year's Eve?"

"There's a New Year's party at the Carousel Bar in the Best Western. Would you be interested in being my date?"

Anna was pleasantly taken aback. "Forward much?"

"I don't see a point in nancying around," Kevin shrugged. "I think you're kinda cute."

Anna couldn't stop the cute blush from flashing across her cheeks. "Well…" she said, flattered. "Uhmmm, thanks."

"So, would you be interested?"

Anna smiled. Kevin was kinda cute, too; in the plaid flannel shirt he was wearing, he looked big and almost cuddly. "Sure! Pick me up at eight. But... just one question."

"Okay."

Anna cocked her head and raised an eyebrow in genuine puzzlement. "There's really a bar in the Best Western?"

Kevin chuckled before he climbed into his SUV. "For someone who's around people for a living, you really need to get out more," he chuckled, before starting up the vehicle. "Enjoy your Christmas, and if you wanna swing by my place tomorrow, door's open. Call me."

Anna smiled and waved as Kevin's SUV pulled out of the Denny's parking lot. She continued to wave until the SUV was out of view before going back inside. New Year's Eve couldn't come fast enough now.

~~~XMAS~~~

When Kevin returned to Denny's, the truckers, the Mods and their kids were all waiting at the front. Bray, Luke and their spouses piled into Kevin's SUV, and Chris and Adam bundled the kids up and followed closely behind.

At the house, which was big and comfortable and simply furnished, Kevin helped everyone get settled in before he brought them all downstairs. "Y'know, the guys were worried that you y'all didn't have a Christmas," he said to Adam, Chris and the kids. "I know you had your ski trip and all, but that's not the same. So… Bray and Luke and Anna the waitress decided to give you something special."

He smiled and flipped on the light. "Merry Christmas."

Tempest's jaw dropped. "OH, WOW! Look at the tree!"

"You guys did this all for us?" Adam looked almost ready to cry in joy. This was a very unexpected, and wonderful, surprise. "Thank you!"

Chris gazed at the tree in wonder. "I don't… I don't know what to say."

Jay grinned. "You don't need to say anything. "We just wanted to do something special. Just felt like the right thing to do."

The tree that had fallen over in Kevin's yard was now decorated and standing in the corner of Kevin's finished basement. The ornaments and tinsel twinkled merrily in the multicolored glow of the LED lights. Underneath the tree lay brightly wrapped packages and bags.

"Rocky!" Ruby Sue squealed. "Look at the tree! It's prettyful."

"Don't you mean beautiful, Ruby Sue?"

"No, I like prettyful better."

"It was a pretty small tree," Kevin pointed out. "Only took one box of lights to decorate it."

"Guess we can take the extra box back," shrugged Bray. "Or, if you want them for next year, Kevin, be our guest. They were half-price at the Family Dollar."

"Thanks. Actually, there's two boxes left over."

Bray and Luke silently counted the number of boxes. With a stunned look on his face, Bray turned to his friend. "I thought we had two, now we got three boxes?"

"How'd we end up with three? What, did they get romantic or something?"

"What are we gonna do with two extra boxes of Christmas lights?"

The kids looked at each other and grinned. Ruby Sue had a mischievous look in her eyes that nobody noticed.

~~~XMAS~~~

"Kids, I just got an alert on my phone," Kevin announced later, as the kids ate cookies, drank hot chocolate and played with Kevin's cats (all three of them gravitated towards the kids, Luke and Jay, who were enjoying a few holiday goodies as well). The presents could wait until morning. "I've got the NORAD app, and the alert just told me that Santa's in United States airspace. He was spotted in New York City."

Rocky squealed. "Ruby Sue and I were tracking him all day on Uncle Chris's iPad!"

"Cool!"

"Santa's gonna bring us something!" Ruby Sue exclaimed.

"You think so?" Jay asked, as he scratched one of the cats behind the ears.

"Uh-huh!"

~~~XMAS~~~

Meanwhile, Bray sat on a big couch in the basement, telling Tempest the Christmas story. "There were three wise men, see? They came from the east and they were looking for Bethlehem. You know how they found it, Tempest?"

"How'd they find it?"

"They followed a star."

Tempest looked completely serious. "Who was the star? Was it Taylor Swift? Or was it Justin Bieber?"

~~~XMAS~~~

Dean sighed and sat up in bed, wide-awake. It was almost midnight now, and everyone else was nestled all snug in their beds and foldout couches. "Bray?" he whispered, shaking the big man. "Bray?"

Bray groaned and rolled over to face his spouse. "Dean, what is it? Go back to sleep!"

"I hate to wake you up on Christmas Eve, but I need your advice. I was sound asleep when all of a sudden, visions of sugarplums danced in my head. What are sugarplums?"

Bray was incredulous. "You woke me up to ask me _that?"_

"It's a perfectly legitimate question."

Bray had to wrack his brain for a minute. "They're sort of round pieces of candy, I think."

"Oh. Good," Dean sighed in relief, laying back down. "I was afraid I was freaking out."

~~~XMAS~~~

Christmas morning began with Kevin and his guests-with the exception of Bray and Luke, who were both still asleep-seated at the kitchen table eating cereal and engaging in idle chitchat. It was quiet and peaceful until the shouting started:

"JAY!"

The kids pointed their heads towards the kitchen doorway in amusement.

"DEAN!"

Two pairs of footsteps clomped down the hall into the kitchen. The angry voices continued.

"WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS!"

"YOU BETTER TAKE THESE OFF ME!"

Bray stomped into the kitchen, followed closely by Luke. They both looked like giant Christmas ornaments, with the merrily blinking lights that were wrapped around their bodies. Kevin's houseguests were having a hard time trying to keep a straight face, and Kevin let a snort or two escape his closed mouth.

Adam asked the obvious question as he sat down at the table with his now-filled coffee cup. "What did you guys do?"

"Y'know those two extra boxes Christmas lights that we didn't know what to do with?" Dean snorted.

It suddenly dawned on Adam. "Oh, you didn't!"

"Well... We wrapped Bray and Luke up in them and plugged them into the wall."

The kids giggled as Chris gasped. "Won't those hurt the guys?"

Jay shook his head "They're the LED lights, they don't get hot."

"Bray and Luke'll be perfectly fine." Dean chimed in before he took another sip out of his coffee cup. "Morning, Luke."

"Hi, Bray, you sleep well?" Jay added. "Wow, blinking lights! You look so festive!"

Bray managed to angrily unwrap the lights from his body. Luke followed suit, looking no less angry. "Alright! Who did this?!"

A pregnant pause followed, and then Dean pointed at Jay. "It was his idea!"

"No! He did it!" Jay fired back, pointing at Dean. "I tried to stop him!"

"Don't throw this on me, Pal!" Dean snapped.

"Okay, screw it! You're _both_ in trouble!" Bray stomped over to the table and yanked Jay out of his chair. Luke grabbed Dean and threw him over his shoulder. "Move out of the way, kids."

"Hey! Put me down!" Jay smacked Bray on the back with his fists (Jay had been slung over Bray's shoulder as well), but it was like a Jack Russell terrier taking on a Rottweiler.

"Hey! Let go!" Dean struggled in Luke's grasp. "We were just having fun!"

"Where's your Christmas spirit?" Jay demanded as he was carried outside. "Better yet, where's your sense of humor?-OOF!" The blonde trucker's protests were silenced as he was dropped face-first into a snowbank. "Bray, it's cold!"

"Well, DUHH! It's snow."

"Luke, I got snow up my nose!" Dean whined as he flailed about; he'd gotten the same treatment from Luke.

"Serves you guys right!"

~~~XMAS~~~

"Mr. Kevin," Tempest asked as she watched the snowy hijinks from the warmth and safety of the kitchen (the Mods had gone to change into some clean clothes). The storm had blown several inches of snow overnight across town, covering everything in a blanket of white. "Should we tell Mr. Bray and Mr. Luke that we wrapped them in the Christmas lights?"

"You guys did it?!" Kevin laughed in shock. He couldn't keep the grin from stretching across his face.

Ruby Sue nodded. "Don't tell our Mods. We'll get in trouble!"

"I won't. Really, this is funnier. But you better thank Jay and Dean for taking the fall for you guys."

"We will!" Rocky nodded.

"Uh-huh!" Ruby Sue chimed in before she gazed out the window. "Look! Jay and Dean are making snow angels face down so they'll have smiles!"

~~~XMAS~~~

Later, after Jay and Dean were dried off and warmed up, everyone sat down around the tree. The kids flitted around like snowflakes and handed out gifts before sitting down to open theirs. Needless to say, they were all thrilled with what they got:

"Ooh! She's prettyful! Nobody in my class has a Princess Karissa doll!"

"This robe's so cozy! Thank you!"

"Hey! A dinosaur set! Cool!"

"It's a dollhouse! I got a dollhouse!"

"I've been looking for this brand of body wash for months! Where'd you get this?"

"Thanks, Jay! It's your lucky body wash! How'd you know I wanted that!"

~~~XMAS~~~

Dean turned off his smartphone and shoved it back into his pocket before stepping back out onto the front porch to join his husband. CDOT had just posted on their website that I-70 was about to be reopened after snowplows ran last night to clear away the snow from the storm. Inside the house, Adam, Chris and the kids were packing up to head back out onto the road. Jay and Luke were helping Kevin clean up before heading out as well. Kevin would take the truckers back to Denny's to collect their rigs before heading over to Anna's to celebrate Christmas with her and her roommates (she'd sent him an invite by text).

"The interstate's gonna be open at noon today," Dean announced. "Snowplows were working double time last night." He paused and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "I really don't wanna go back out on the road."

"We have to, Dean. We got a schedule to keep," Bray explained, gently. "We stay off the road any longer, we lose money."

"I know. But I've had such a great time here, I really don't want it to end. This could have been a disaster, what with the snowstorm and Jay and me stealing the tree."

"It fell down-" Bray corrected his spouse.

"Let's not go there right now. Anyway, like I said. It could have been a disaster, but it turned out to be the best Christmas we've had in years."

"You're right. This was the best one we've had in a long time, Dean. Christmas I think has a magic that brings together people that need each other the most. All of us would have been Christmas orphans if it wasn't for this snowstorm …" Bray's voice trailed off when he suddenly remembered something very important. "Awww, _dammit!"_

"What?"

"In all the excitement, I forgot to get _you_ a Christmas present."

Dean wrapped his arms around Bray and pulled him close. "It's okay. I don't need one. I have everything I need right here. But…" Dean broke the embrace and fumbled through his jacket pocket until he pulled out the little box he'd bought at Family Dollar. Placing it in Bray's hands, he said, "I have something for _you._ I didn't wanna give it to you until we were alone. Open it."

Bray cocked his head in puzzlement as he opened the box and gazed upon its contents. "A pregnancy test? No, wait. It's a... a _positive_ pregnancy test." He glanced up at his husband, who was grinning like a fool, and put two and two together. "How… how long have you been—"

"Four months," Dean answered. I wanted to be sure it stuck before I told you. I told the OB/GYN to keep everything on the down low."

Bray set the gift aside and facepalmed. "Dammit, and I let Luke toss you into a snowbank! If I'd have known you were pregnant-"

"Bray, I wouldn't have let Luke toss me into that snowbank if I didn't think I could handle it," Dean assured his husband. "Baby's fine. And just think, in five or six more months, we're gonna have a little Ruby Sue of our own."

"It's a girl?"

"Uh-huh."

With a joyous whoop, Bray picked his spouse up and spun him around gently. "I've wanted a have a family for as long as I can remember!" Grinning like a fool himself, he set Dean down on the porch before taking him back into his arms and pulling him close. "Merry Christmas… Mod."

"Merry Christmas… Daddy," Dean smiled before Bray pulled him into a kiss.

 **THE END**

 **NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Like I said in the beginning, sorry this took so long! Life got in the way, and it made it hard for me to finish this one! But, better late than never! I hope your holidays-whichever ones you celebrated-were happy and restful.**

 **I'll be taking some time off to get An Army Of Angels cranked out. I'm going to try and write Book One first and put it out in one fell swoop. Thanks for all your support, and I'll see you soon!**

 **DON'T FORGET… REVIEWS = LOVE**


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